Super Street Network

Puer To Rico Connection

Stock Appearance, But Hardly Stock In Performance

When It Comes To Priorities,The Puerto Ricans HaveA Well-Established One:Fast Cars Are Meant To Be Fast,And Looking Fast Is Not That Important

The streets in Puerto Rico are filled with disguised racing cars-there is no clue as to how fast a car really is by looking at it. When it comes to priorities, the Puerto Ricans have a well-established one: fast cars are meant to be fast, and looking fast is not that important, therefore being fast and being able to use the car daily is one of the most desirable achievements, everything else comes second.

Being fast has no limit as to the amount of modifications and parts that can be installed and/or removed from the car. Motorcycle tires, carbon-fiber parts, and exotic fuels are some of the few things you'll find on these street-going race cars around Puerto Rico.

Let's be honest, if you're driving an Evo, 350Z, or STI because of its creature comforts you are really confused and might as well sell it and buy a Camry. That's why it is extremely hard to find a 100 percent stock Evo, 350Z, or STI in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is the island with some of the fastest turbo four cylinders and pioneers in the Baby Pro division, but recently it's been able to break some records on the sport compact scene: Tony Performance's SC300 8.86 at 161.81 mph and 8.87 at 158 mph, Georgie Performance's STI 9.2 at 153 mph, Anibal Bbq's Evo IX 9.59 at 141.9 mph (stock turbo application), Fp Red at Red Star Motoring's S2000 9.61 at 145 mph, Rafy "Peluca" Talon 9.7 at 138 mph, TCS's Subaru RS 10.7 at 129.9 mph on pump gas, Fifa Racing's Evo X 10.7 at 125 mph (world's fastest Evo X), and last but not least the beloved carrito.net's Evo X stock turbo application 10.9 at 120.6 mph-the first Evo X to break into the 10-second area. All of these cars look like regular modified modern cars but they transform into racing cars in a few hours to achieve incredible performance.

One might say that Puerto Ricans have a Napoleonic complex, but don't be afraid, they don't want to conquer Europe, they only want to be the fastest. People like Jose "Pepo" Besosa, Javier Monroig, Hector "Colo," Junot, Tony "Performance," Georgie, Freddy "Clandestino," and a few others are determined to make that a reality.

The local car scene is serious stuff, they visit Sporty's dyno more often than they go to the supermarket, and GRS Motorsports, Super Compacto, and Carrito.net are their versions of YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace.

Why are Puerto Ricans so proud? I think it's obvious: 8 seconds on a 4,000-pound Lexus, doing 10 seconds on an Evo X before it's even done with the break-in period or done going through its first oil change, doing 9 seconds on an Evo IX with a modified stock turbo without nitrous, or doing 9 seconds on an S2000 that was meant to be shown at auto shows. Those are only some of the most recent achievements and are strong arguments that fill their healthy egos.

After a friendly argument with Scott Tsuneishi, I realized that Puerto Ricans are not building magazine cars and that pictures don't give enough credit to our cars. But believe me, I'll do my best to change that and I hope that there are still a few people out there who care about how the car actually performs. Thanks for your time and I hope you like what we do down here at our beautiful little island, hasta pronto!

Editor's Note: Johnny Fargas is neck deep in the Puerto Rican tuning scene with his website, carrito.net, and his own Mitsubishi Evo, which was featured in Turbo a few issues back. His enthusiasm for turbos and tuning and the long-standing respect Turbo has had for Puerto Rico led us to create this Puerto Rico Connection column. Stay tuned as Johnny continues to tap the pulse of Puerto Rico, bringing the island's enthusiasm and innovation to our readers.